Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-11-02
Misfeltaneolts &eading.
SNAKE RITE.

oNhhI DIIIs
The other day, while waiting ata
little station in Hall county, for an
Airline passenger train, the station
agent, who also looked after the ex-.
press and was section boss, too, ard
the postmaster, who was the proprie-
tor of a small country store, were
Willing away the time in talk
ing about snakes-especially rattle
snakes. A negro man afew minutes
before had killed Whatswas unani-
mously pronounced aground rattle
snake, variety unfamiliar to the
writer.
The dead snake was small, having
only one rattle and button, but it
was generally agreed that the vari-
ETY. never grew larger and seldom, if
ever, had more rattles. Its bite was
declared bad enough, but not as fatal
as the bite of the larger rattlesnakes,
the one generally known to people.
"What would you do if you were
bitten by q rattlesnake?n I incurred
OF the postmaster. '''-''
"Well, I would send some one to
Gainesville as fast as he could git
thar, for corn whisky. You may
say jist what you please agin corn
whisky, but for snake bites, and es-
pecially rattlesnake bites, thar is
nothing that 1 knows of'for sartin
that can come anywhere near corn
whisky"
"But wouldn't you die before a
man could 60 to Gainesville-six
miles-and back with the whisky ?"
"Well, I expect I'd git sorter sick
afore he could git back, but I'd git a
chicken, black chickens is regarded
as specially effikashus in sich instan-
ces, and cut it open, and slap one
half to the bite, and afore you know
ed it you'd see that ar chicken turn
in green, and then you'd know it
was doin its work. Keep putting
raw chicken to the bite until the
whisky comes"
but suppose you did not have a
chicken ?"
"Well, I have hearn tell that
sperits turpentine was powerful
handy. You jest uncork the bottle
and put the neck over the bite, and
turn her up, keeping it pressed sort
er hard on the place to keep it from
spilling out, you know; and the
first thing you knowed you'd see lnat
ar pisen going right straight up that
bottle in a thin green streak. I've
seed hit myself; it goes up jest like
lie goes down in the water."'
"But suppose you had no turpen-
tine, what them"
The postmaster thought long and
laboriously, and his friend, the Sec
tion boss, grew nervous at the
thought thar after all the biggest
man in the settlement was going to
be downed by a question from
stranger; but in a moment or so, the
answer came.
"I've hearn Aunt Sally Brooks,
over t'other side of the Glade, say
that sweet milk and cuckle burs was
powerful remedy in such cases. I
haint never tried hit myself, but
Aunt Sally has a mighty good repu-
tashum in the settlement for sich
matters"
"Salt water is mighty good, too,"
said the section boss, "butit's power
full aggravative to keep it down in
sich cases. Uncle Billy Hulsey, last
May, three years ago, was bitten by
a rattlesnake that had thirteen rat
ties and button, and he was skeer-
ed powerful nigh to death; thar
warn't no whisky in the settlement,
and nobody thought of chicken.
Tom Samson, hegot on Jim Purdue's
gray mare and put out for Gaines
Vile, and while he rode powerful
hard, he was nigh on to three hours
gittin' back. / reckon Uncle Billy
would a died, but his darter Jane, un-
beknown't, sent over for Aunt Sally
Brooks, and she took the snake and
cut it up into a powerful sight Of
pieces and took'en put one after an
other to the bite. 1t drawed out all
the pizen, and Uncle Billy didn't
die, but he was mighty sick, special
ly after the whisky come"
Ibid he drink it ?"
cpl be blamed if he didn't swal-
low nigh onto half a gallon, and it
took all the boys to keep him from
cleaning up the whole settlement"
my honest advice" said the post
master, after a short pause, "is that
these other things is mighty good
when you can'tge nothing else, but
there amt nothing like good corn
whisky it beats anything yit that is
knowed of fur snake bites"